Rough Weather Day Today – Sunday April 14th

I remarked to someone yesterday that the rains that were supposed to arrive on Saturday never did so. A quick check of news outlets this morning showed that neighboring counties did get quite a bit of rain, high winds, and at least one report of a tornado.

Today is going to be much the same type of day. This afternoon’s forecast includes thunderstorms, high winds, and the possibility of tornadoes. The rain has already started this morning in my town of Hickory, North Carolina. The rain is quite torrential and the winds are starting to pick up as well.

Reports I have read and seen say that the worst part of the storms will come around mid-afternoon. And so unlike yesterday, I’ll be paying a bit more attention to the skies and weather today. I wasn’t aware of the high winds and possible tornadoes until this morning. Otherwise, I would have said yesterday was a pretty mild day.

It is that time of year,,,and diligent those of us in the South must be.

https://weather.com/forecast/regional/news/2019-04-12-severe-thunderstorm-tornado-wind-hail-weekend-system-mid-april

9:30 a.m. Radar Image

Many Join My Hiatus, but Not by Choice…

As I perused this morning’s news, I became aware that several social media sites, including Facebook were not operating for about three hours early Sunday morning. The outages of FB, Instagram, and Whatsapp were reported just after 6 a.m. eastern time and all three were back online by 9 a.m. So like it or not, millions of people joined me in my time away from social media.

I think it speaks volumes that an outage of a website can be termed “major news” and warrant a story in the media. It’s as if a lifeline has been removed from the world. There’s even a website completely devoted to reporting on such outages as these.

Just one more evidence of the hold that social media has on our world today. One is left to wonder what the repercussions would be if the sites were to be removed permanently…I’m assuming most would survive, but life myself, they would find what a huge part of daily life these outlets have become. And I’m not so sure that’s a good thing.

https://www.hickoryrecord.com/news/trending/update-facebook-instagram-whatsapp-back-up-after-massive-outage/article_baf4c28e-9808-50d8-a0f7-c8d4ac9c8240.html

Daily Readings for Sunday, April 14th

24 Hours a Day

Meditation for the Day

I must keep balance by keeping spiritual things at the center of my life. God will give me this poise and balance if I pray for it. This poise will give me power in dealing with the lives of others. This balance will manifest itself more and more in my own life. I should keep material things in their proper place and keep spiritual things at the center of my life. Then I will be at peace amid the distractions of everyday living.

Prayer for the Day

I pray that I may dwell with God at the center of my life. I pray that I may keep that inner peace at the center of my being.

Language of Letting Go

Perfectionism

Recovery from codependency is an individual process that necessitates making mistakes, struggling through problems, and facing tough issues.

Expecting ourselves to be perfect slows this process; it puts us in a guilty and anxious state. Expecting others to be perfect is equally destructive; it makes others feel ashamed and may interfere with their growth.

People are human and vulnerable, and that is wonderful. We can accept and cherish that idea. Expecting others to be perfect puts us in that codependent state of moral superiority. Expecting ourselves to be perfect makes us feel rigid and inferior.

We can let go of both ideas.

We do not need to go to the other extreme; tolerating anything people throw our way. We can still expect appropriate, responsible behavior from ourselves. But most of us can afford to loosen up a bit. And when we stop expecting others to be perfect, we may discover that they’re doing much better than we thought. When we stop expecting ourselves to be perfect, we’ll discover the beauty in ourselves.

Today, I will practice tolerance, acceptance, and love of others as they are, and myself as I am. I will strive for that balance between expecting too much and expecting too little from others and myself.